Meet and Greet: English Greetings and Introductions

Learn how to greet people, introduce yourself, and ask about jobs in this free A1 English lesson for adult beginners. Use the interactive slides to listen to useful expressions, repeat new vocabulary, and practice short conversations. Teachers can use the lesson with a class, and learners can review the examples at their own pace.

What you will learn

• Say hello using formal and informal greetings.
• Introduce yourself and another person.
• Ask and answer questions about your name, country, and job.

Formal and informal English greetings

Choose a greeting that fits the person and the situation. Good morning, Good afternoon, and Good evening are polite greetings. Hi and Hey are more casual. Hello works in many situations.

• Good morning: greet someone in the morning.
• Good afternoon: greet someone in the afternoon.
• Good evening: greet someone in the evening.
• Hi! / Hey!: greet a friend or someone you know.
• How is it going?: ask how someone is in an informal conversation.

When you meet someone for the first time, say Nice to meet you. A simple reply is Nice to meet you, too. The slides include audio examples to help you practice pronunciation.

How to introduce yourself in English

Start with a greeting, then give your name. You can also say where you are from and what you do.

• My name is Sara.
• I am from Morocco.
• I am a teacher.

To introduce another person, say This is my friend, Tom.

A short introduction conversation

Sara: Hello! My name is Sara. What is your name?
Tom: Hi, Sara. I am Tom. Nice to meet you.
Sara: Nice to meet you, too. Where are you from?
Tom: I am from Canada. What about you?
Sara: I am from Morocco.

Asking and answering questions about jobs

Ask What is your job? or What do you do? Answer with I am a teacher or I work as a teacher.

A: What is your job?
B: I am a teacher. Are you a doctor?
A: Yes, I am.

Practice the job vocabulary in the slides: doctor, nurse, dentist, pharmacist, tutor, electrician, plumber, carpenter, firefighter, cook, barber, and hairdresser. Listen to each word, repeat it, and use it in a sentence.

Practice with the interactive lesson

1. Introduce yourself and try the getting-to-know-you warm-up.
2. Watch the greetings video and answer its quiz questions.
3. Listen to the formal and informal greetings and repeat them aloud.
4. Practice the jobs conversation and vocabulary.
5. Complete the jobs matching activity.

Homework: write your introduction

Write three sentences about your name, country, and job. Use this guide:

• My name is ...
• I am from ...
• I work as a ...

Read your introduction aloud. At the end of the lesson, share one new word or expression you learned.

Using this lesson in class

Begin with a short teacher introduction, then invite learners to introduce themselves. Let them listen before repeating the greetings. For speaking practice, ask learners to work in pairs, exchange names and countries, and ask about jobs. Finish with the three-sentence introduction and a short review.

Explore more lessons in our free A1 English teaching materials.